'Vulnerable' defendants and virtual justice: a survey 

Transform Justice (www.transformjustice.org.uk) is a national charity working for a fair, humane, open and effective justice system. We are currently engaged in a project looking at the effect of 'virtual justice' on defendants who may be vulnerable. Hearings involving those who are in prison (both those on remand and subject to a sentence) are increasingly conducted via a video-link from the custodial facility to the court room/parole board hearing room. In many areas, there is also the facility to connect police custody suites to courts by video for hearings involving defendants detained by the police. The government has recently proposed a significant extension to such mechanisms. so that many hearings would be conducted entirely by video. It was similarly proposed that some hearings would be conducted in part, or entirely, by telephone. Currently it is not certain whether these proposals will be persued.

This survey forms part of Transform Justice's work in this area. It is aimed primarily at those who have direct experience of working with defendants and/or those convicted, and some experience of witnessing video hearings in action. Findings will inform the development of recommendations to improve policy and practice in relation to virtual justice (video and aural).

 

The survey is short and we would be very grateful if you could take 10-15 minutes to respond on the basis of your professional/user experience and expertise. The survey is anonymous, unless you choose to provide your name and contact details for the purpose of taking part in a short follow-up interview. If a question is not relevant to your experience, please feel free to skip it. If you have any difficulties completing the survey, please contact Penelope@transformjustice.org.uk

Thank you for your time.